A parallel conductive wire array in which parallel conductive wires are arranged to polarize a specific polarized light component in an electromagnetic wave is generally referred to as a wire grid polarizer.
If the distance between the parallel conductive wires is shorter than the wavelength of an incident electromagnetic wave, the wire grid polarizer reflects a polarized light component (an S wave) that is parallel to the conductive wires and transmits a vertical polarized light component (a P wave) that is perpendicular to the conductive wires. In this manner, only light having a specific polarization is transmitted by the wire grid polarizer. The wire grid may have excellent polarization efficiency, a high transmittance, and a wide viewing angle. Furthermore, the wire grid polarizer allows reuse of the reflected polarized light component, unlike an absorbing polarizer.